According to media reports citing election officials, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh’s parliamentary election, giving her party, the Awami League, a fourth consecutive term.
Following a violent election campaign and a boycott by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), it has been confirmed by several media reports that Hasina’s party has won 216 seats out of 299, according to Sky News.
“The ruling Awami League party has won more than half of the seats,” said the official.
The Election Commission is expected to issue a final official declaration on the election results late Monday, according to Sky News.
According to Kazi Habibul Awal, the Chief Election Commissioner, approximately 40% of the 120 million eligible voters voted.
According to local TV stations, independent candidates won 52 parliamentary seats, while the Jatiya Party, the country’s third largest, won 11.
Hasina’s party has already won a majority, and counting continues. This will be her fifth term as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister.
Before the elections, Hasina’s government arrested thousands of opposition politicians. The BNP, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, boycotted the elections.
According to Sky News, Zia, 78, is under house arrest after being convicted in a corruption case.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hasina was re-elected to the Gopalganj-3 constituency in parliament.
According to bdnews24, Hasina received 249,965 votes, while her closest rival, M. Nizam Uddin Lashkar of the Bangladesh Supreme Party, received only 469 votes.
Hasina was elected to the Gopalganj-3 seat in parliament for the eighth time since 1986.
The victory also makes the 76-year-old the country’s longest-serving leader.
According to Sky News, the BNP, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, refused to accept the election results.
There were at least 18 arson attacks in the run-up to the election, including one on a train on Friday night that resulted in four deaths.
Seven men from the BNP and its youth wing were detained for alleged involvement in the train attack.
The Sheikh Hasina government went on to defend the election, claiming that it was attended by 27 parties and 404 independent candidates.
